Chapter 141: The Last Obstacle

Chapter 141: The Last Obstacle

Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 141: The Last Obstacle

A sweet melody began to invade their ears all of a sudden.

Naruto started feeling disoriented, nearly losing his balance as he leaped over a large tree branch.

"Genjutsu," he realized, but he quickly dispelled it thanks to his mastery over his Inner Palace, located in the deepest parts of his consciousness.

If anyone tried to affect his senses, he could tap into his full power to fight back against the mental attack.

In seconds, he regained control.

Shikamaru also shook off the Genjutsu and immediately assisted his teammates.

"Ahhh!" Kiba yelped in pain as Akamaru bit him.

The Inuzuka clan had their own unique way of breaking free from Genjutsu.

"The enemy is up there, on those branches!" Kiba shouted, regaining his senses and locating the last member of the Sound Four.

Or so they thought.

"Where is Sasuke?" Shikamaru spotted the female ninja standing on a branch, flute in hand, but the large urn she'd been carrying was nowhere in sight.

"They either had another member pick it up, or..." Naruto trailed off.

"Or Sasuke is no longer inside," Shikamaru concluded.

"You'll never find him!" the female ninja sneered, biting her finger.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Three giant humanoid creatures materialized beside her.

"Damn, what are those things? They don't smell like anything..." Kiba muttered.

"Kiba, focus on your task. Can you pick up any trace of Sasuke? Or any new scents nearby? We could be dealing with someone we haven't encountered yet," Shikamaru said.

"Hold on..." Kiba and Akamaru began sniffing the air.

No doubt about it. These were the shattered pieces of the container that had held Sasuke, this would explain why Kiba could suddenly pick up Sasuke's scent.

"Can you still track Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, he's just ahead, not far," Kiba confirmed.

They stopped a safe distance from the unknown individual.

"My name is Kimimaro. I'm afraid I have to stop you from going any further," Kimimaro said, looking directly at Naruto.

"Kiba... keep going," Naruto ordered, his gaze locked on Kimimaro.

"But... Shikamaru said you're the one who has to confront Sasuke," Kiba protested. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew he stood little chance against the Uchiha genius.

What he didn't realize was that he had even less chance against the enemy before them.

"This one is too dangerous..." Naruto muttered as he activated one of the Nine-Tails' chakra tails for precaution.

Every instinct told him to be wary of this person.

"Naruto...?" Kiba was surprised to see Naruto reacting so cautiously.

Akamaru growled, trembling as he stared at Kimimaro.

"Akamaru..." Kiba murmured, recalling that his dog hadn't reacted like this since they'd first encountered Gaara.

"Is this guy really that dangerous?"

"Go find Sasuke. But when you do, don't confront him directly. Just try to buy some time. I'll catch up as soon as I can," Naruto instructed, glancing at Kiba.

Kiba opened his mouth to argue, but Naruto interrupted.

"I said, go!" A second tail of chakra formed behind Naruto, pushing Kiba back with its sheer force.

Kiba nodded and took off, leaving Naruto behind.

As Naruto suspected, Kimimaro didn't so much as flinch or try to stop Kiba. His focus remained solely on Naruto.

"He has no chance of stopping Mister Sasuke. Even less now, in his current state. That boy with the dog is more likely to die than anything else," Kimimaro said calmly, his gaze fixed on Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto... I was ordered to stop you if you showed up. Those are my master's commands."

"Well... you're welcome to try," Naruto replied, his eyes glowing bright orange as a third chakra tail emerged behind him.

A.N: - Remember to comment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it.

You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters.